A prairie dog sits outside the man-made den provided for it at the relocation site off Minersville Highway on Aug. 16, 2012.

Written by

Josh Huntsman
jhuntsman@thespectrum.com

While Utah prairie dogs' burrows are covered in winter snow, the political landscape surrounding the protected animal is changing, thanks to proposed legislation that could see Iron County gain total responsibility for the prairie dogs' survival.

State Sen. Evan Vickers is sponsoring SCR3, called the Threatened Species Damage and Management Plan, with Rep. John Westwood. The plan calls the state of Utah to "urge the United States Secretary of the Interior grant of a five-year opportunity for Iron County to manage the Utah Prairie Dog population in Iron County, with the assistance of the ...